Asher and Valeris made their way deeper into the city, the path widening as they neared the inner sanctum of Blood Sky. The streets grew cleaner, lined with polished obsidian statues and flowering crimson trees whose petals never fell. Enchanted lanterns floated gently above, casting a faint red glow that shimred across the cobbled roads like the surface of still blood.
Then ca the marble gate—carved in the image of coiling serpents drinking from chalices—and beyond it, the grounds of the Varnis estate.
The manor was enormous. Its central palace lood like a fortress grown from obsidian veins, crowned with towering spires that reached into the sky like claws. Walls of bloodglass reflected the surrounding city in warped red hues, and fountains bubbled with what looked like liquefied rubies. The air here was thick with pressure—not just from power, but expectation.
And in the vast courtyard just outside the estate gates, dozens of people had gathered.
Healers. Adventurers. rcenaries in expensive robes, robed ascetics leaning on staffs, wandering doctors, and even a few shamans with bone charms dangling from their necks. The line stretched along the periter wall, curving down a side path and disappearing into the distance.
So waited patiently, cross-legged or whispering quiet chants. Others argued in hushed tones or bartered favors for a higher position in the line. A few had even set up makeshift camps, as if they'd been here for days.
"This many healers?" Valeris murmured, surprised.
"More than just healers," Asher replied, his gaze sweeping the crowd. "There are treasure-seekers too. If they cure the girl, they'll be rewarded beyond imagination—and likely granted audience with the Varnis Patriarch. That kind of access is worth more than gold."
"Still, most of them won't even understand what's wrong with her," Valeris said, eyeing a cluster of chanting monks whose aura barely rose above mortal.
"They're throwing water at a wildfire," Asher agreed, stepping forward. "But we'll get through."
"How? By skipping the line?"
"There's no need to skip it," Asher replied calmly, his gaze sweeping across the estate gates. "I'm pretty sure House Varnis won't let just anyone near their youngest."
With that, he stepped into the line without protest, while Valeris moved off to the side like the other companions of those who had co to try and heal the dying daughter.
Asher idly watched as several healers were called forward one by one. The guards never let more than one enter at a ti. It beca clear quickly that House Varnis was being extrely cautious—perhaps even desperate—but not careless.
"I guess she's that close to death," Asher thought, arms folded, his power held in check as he waited in silence.
Eventually, a guard approached. "You. Follow ," the man said, eyeing Asher carefully.
Asher nodded once and stepped out of the line, noting the man's rank with a glance. A Void-Rank guard… House Varnis isn't taking any chances, he thought, keeping pace behind him.
The guard led him through the inner gates and down a stone corridor veined with red crystal. The very air here was charged, the scent of blood faintly present in every breath.
They stopped before a wide, sealed door. Thorned vines—dark and pulsing—crept along the stone arch, as if guarding whatever lay beyond.
"She's inside," the guard said grimly, turning to face him. "But beware—the corruption has seeped into the very walls. The Bloodthorn Vines will react violently to foreign auras. If you can pass through and reach her… and cure her… then do it. But be warned: many have tried. Not all ca back."
Asher gave a slow nod, his expression calm as ever. "Understood."
The guard stepped aside, silently watching as Asher walked toward the sealed door, which was overgrown with thick, blood-tinted vines. As Asher approached, he lifted his hand—and the mont his palm neared the vines, they trembled.
The guard blinked, confused. "Wait… they're… yielding?"
He watched in stunned silence as the vines parted for Asher, curling back like tad serpents, opening a path directly through the sealed threshold.
"What… how?" the guard muttered. "They've attacked everyone else. No one's even made it this far."
Then he rembered sothing Asher had said… sothing about blood.
"Could it be… his power? It's resonating with them," the guard murmured to himself. "Is his ability related to blood as well…?"
He bowed his head slightly. "I hope he truly can save the young miss."
And with that, the guard left, disappearing back into the halls of the estate.
**
Inside, Asher stepped carefully through the threshold and into the heart of the sealed chamber. The room was dimly lit, and the walls pulsed faintly with a crimson hue. Bloodthorn vines coated the stone from floor to ceiling, woven together like muscle and vein—but none barred his path. They shifted silently as he moved, as if recognizing him, or fearing him.
"This whole place… it's alive," Asher muttered.
He advanced until he reached the center of the chamber, where a single ornate bed lay surrounded by ritual wards and blood-soaked seals. Upon the bed rested a young girl—barely in her teens—her body pale and fragile, streaked with black veins that pulsed with corrupted energy.
Her breaths were shallow, her lips almost blue. The corruption in her blood was so thick it had begun to seep from her pores, staining the bed and floor in oily black-red streaks.
"What is this?" Asher whispered, stepping closer.
He reached out a hand, letting the aura of his Sanguine Supre awaken around him. The mont his power stirred, the corrupted blood recoiled—visibly pulling back from the air around his hand as if it had touched fire.
Now, with the corrupted blood temporarily driven back, Asher got a clearer look at the girl. Her entire body resembled the withered bark of a red-stained tree, as if her flesh had petrified into so twisted fusion of blood and wood. Even her face was half-covered by this strange, bark-like transformation, masking her features beneath a veil of corruption.
"Hm. It's not just the Corrupted Blood skill," Asher murmured, his eyes narrowing. "This… feels like she got so other skill realted with Curse and Nature elent aside from Blood too"
He reached into his soul core and activated Absolute Appraisal, his irises flickering with ethereal crimson light as information flowed into his mind.
[Subject Identified: Veyra Varnis]
Age: 23
Lineage: Bloodline of House Varnis (High-Purity)
Innate Skill (Dungeon-Origin): Blood Root of Crimson Bloom
Corruption Type: Evolved Parasite-Type Curse (Dormant Entity Class: Husk Thornmother)
Core Stability: Severely Degraded (28%)
Soul Integrity: Fragnted (52%)
Bloodstream Control: Overridden
Hostile Influence Detected: Yes
Current Status: Dormant possession in process. Terminal phase nearing completion.
Estimated Ti Until Soul Collapse: 6 hours, 22 minutes
[Description]:
A young woman who ca across a powerful variant of the Corrupted Blood skill. Believing it to be a sign of fate, she accepted the skill book—unaware that it contained not only the skill itself but also the dormant egg of a parasitic entity. This parasite had originally caused the dungeon boss to mutate and drop this powerful skill.
For years, the egg remained dormant within her body, but it has now hatched. The parasite has begun the process of mutating her into a perfect host, slowly replacing her blood, body, and soul with its own design. ]
"I see," Asher murmured, his voice quiet, yet weighted. The glow in his eyes intensified as he focused Absolute Appraisal not on Veyra this ti—but on the parasite that had taken root inside her.
The world seed to still for a mont as the threads of hidden truth unraveled before his sight.
[Appraisal Target: Dormant Entity - "Husk Thornmother"]
Classification: Evolved Parasite-Type Curse
Threat Level: Cataclysmic (Dormant)
Origin: Unknown Dungeon, Depth-Class anomaly
Current Host: Veyra Varnis
State: Cocooned Dormancy → Host Integration: 94%
Projected Evolution: Hive Core (Type: Sanguine Bloommother)
Soul Leeching Rate: High
Bloodstream Override: Complete
Regeneration Feedback: Active
Weaknesses:
— Disruption of Sanguine Symbiosis Core
— Overload of Host's Blood Network pathways
— Exposure to higher rank Blood Ruler/sanguine energy
Notable Traits:
— The Husk Thornmother is a parasitic intelligence that evolves by devouring the soul and blood of its host.
— Once fully awakened, it turns the host into a root-core node, allowing it to spawn hive extensions via blood-contaminated flora.
— It is partially sapient and capable of forming pseudo-wills from fragnted mories of consud hosts.
— It cannot survive outside a host until it achieves Bloommother phase. ]
"Well, it turns out to be simple," Asher nodded as he observed the parasite's weaknesses. From her aura, it was clear that Lady Veyra was only at Void Rank, while he himself was at World Rank—a full two ranks above her.
On top of that, he possessed the superior version of the Blood Ruler skill: Sanguine Supre.
With that kind of power gap, healing her would be easy.
All he needed now was to unleash his aura and exert absolute dominance over the parasite—to force it out of her body and sever its hold.
Asher stood over the unconscious girl, the quiet hum of corrupted blood trembling in the air like a string pulled taut. The parasite pulsed beneath her skin—its presence subtle, but vile. The blackened vines on her arms twitched in response to his nearness, like they could sense the predator standing before them.
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